Morning everyone,
This week brought a mix of acquisitions, leadership changes, and at least one shutdown worth noting. SPUD has found a new home with GrubMarket, Jane has quietly added Ginger Desk to its roster, and TELUS is restructuring its leadership heading into the fall.
A couple of events worth flagging: Vancouver Tech Days is on July 27 and 28, and we still have plenty of room for the networking mixer — grab a ticket if you haven't yet. And on August 5, we're hosting a hands-on AI workshop, Stop Digging, Start Deciding, designed to help you move from one-off AI experiments to workflows you can actually rely on. Free for VTJ Insiders, and general admission tickets are available too.
-Emily
Events
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From The Journal
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Funding, Deals, and More
Vancouver's SPUD, one of Canada's leading online grocery businesses, has been acquired by US-based GrubMarket, which will bring its AI-powered supply chain technology to SPUD's operations across B.C. and Alberta. Read more →
Jane Software has acquired Ginger Desk, a healthcare admin platform, with founder Dr. Julie Durnan joining Jane as Head of Services and all 53 Ginger Desk team members moving over to the North Vancouver company. Read more →
Free Agent, a Vancouver startup building a professional networking platform exclusively for athletes, has raised $1.7 million USD in pre-seed funding, backed by roughly 55 angel investors who are almost all former athletes. Read more →
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In Other News
TELUS has announced a leadership restructuring, bringing back former executive David Fuller to lead its consolidated telecom business and promoting Navin Arora to oversee its global platform businesses, while Zainul Mawji departs after 25 years. Read more →
Techcouver profiles Dennis Pilarinos, the SFU grad who helped seed Amazon Web Services' Vancouver presence and later built and sold developer tools startup Buddybuild to Apple, and is now building Unblocked. Read more →
Vancouver's Netcoins has become the first Canadian platform to launch crypto-backed loans using APX Lending's infrastructure, allowing customers to borrow against their Bitcoin and Ether holdings without selling them. Read more →
Flex AI, a Vancouver personal training app that grew to nearly one million users, has shut down after running out of funding and failing to secure an acquisition. Read more →
Rethinking your workspace strategy? Whether navigating a renewal, relocation, or rightsizing for cost savings, The High Technology Facilities Group at CBRE aligns your real estate with your needs. Connect with BC’s tech real estate experts.*
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